Is Weakness In Drillcon AB (publ) (STO:DRIL) Stock A Sign That The Market Could be Wrong Given Its Strong Financial Prospects?

With its stock down 6.1% over the past three months, it is easy to disregard Drillcon (STO:DRIL). However, a closer look at its sound financials might cause you to think again. Given that fundamentals usually drive long-term market outcomes, the company is worth looking at. In this article, we decided to focus on Drillcon's ROE.

Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. In simpler terms, it measures the profitability of a company in relation to shareholder's equity.

View our latest analysis for Drillcon

How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?

ROE can be calculated by using the formula:

Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity

So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Drillcon is:

9.3% = kr16m ÷ kr171m (Based on the trailing twelve months to September 2020).

The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every SEK1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated SEK0.09 in profit.

What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?

Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.

A Side By Side comparison of Drillcon's Earnings Growth And 9.3% ROE

To begin with, Drillcon seems to have a respectable ROE. And on comparing with the industry, we found that the the average industry ROE is similar at 8.8%. This probably goes some way in explaining Drillcon's significant 30% net income growth over the past five years amongst other factors. We reckon that there could also be other factors at play here. For instance, the company has a low payout ratio or is being managed efficiently.

We then compared Drillcon's net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 13% in the same period.

Earnings growth is an important metric to consider when valuing a stock. The investor should try to establish if the expected growth or decline in earnings, whichever the case may be, is priced in. This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Is Drillcon fairly valued compared to other companies? These 3 valuation measures might help you decide.

Is Drillcon Efficiently Re-investing Its Profits?

While the company did pay out a portion of its dividend in the past, it currently doesn't pay a dividend. This is likely what's driving the high earnings growth number discussed above.

Summary

On the whole, we feel that Drillcon's performance has been quite good. Especially the high ROE, Which has contributed to the impressive growth seen in earnings. Despite the company reinvesting only a small portion of its profits, it still has managed to grow its earnings so that is appreciable. So far, we've only made a quick discussion around the company's earnings growth. You can do your own research on Drillcon and see how it has performed in the past by looking at this FREE detailed graph of past earnings, revenue and cash flows.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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